Purchased Today - First Impressions and Comments

[canuckgamer]

I bought it earlier today and played the first tutorial and now playing the second. I did not buy the Immortal Fire add on because I wanted to check out the game first. I have been looking for a good computer game on ancient warfare for a long time and I am very impressed with this one. I will definitely be purchasing Immortal Fire. I think this game engine has definite possibilities for different eras such as the Crusades.

Some comments and questions.
(1) In the manual it indicates that a unit has a better chance to rally when with a general however in both tutorials the general begins with a unit. Since there is no stacking I would have to move the general to the unit I want to rally. How do I do that?
(2) Similar question, in the 2nd tutorial it says you can switch units to different commands, how do you do that?
(3) In the 2nd tutorial the ambient sound includes music. I suggest that a future patch should allow you to turn music off while keeping the other ambient sounds.
(4) Is there a way to turn auto save off?
(5) I think there should be an option to save the game without retreating from battle and going through the end game screen detailing casualties etc.

In regards to the two views, isometric or top, in the screenshots I have seen it appears that the camera is at a lower angle that what I was able to get in the game. Am I missing something?

I'm having a friend over tomorrow to show him the game. I'm pretty sure he will be as impressed as he loves Roman history. Then we can get in to some PBEM games.

[devoncop]

I will try and help...it's a really great game so a wide purchase.

You can move a General by clicking on the unit the General is currently in and then clicking (I think it may be right clicking) on the unit you want to move the General too and a General symbol appears as an option so choose that. Note you cannot move the General if he is engaged in combat. Remember you need to attach the unit to the Generals command (see paragraph below) before you can move the General into it.

To add a unit under a General's control click on the unit and right click on the Generals unit again but this time choose the square checkerboard symbol to attach the unit to his command.

If you ever want a MP game just PM me....

All the best and enjoy !

[Ironclad]

(5) I think there should be an option to save the game without retreating from battle and going through the end game screen detailing casualties etc.

In regards to the two views, isometric or top, in the screenshots I have seen it appears that the camera is at a lower angle that what I was able to get in the game. Am I missing something?

I'm having a friend over tomorrow to show him the game. I'm pretty sure he will be as impressed as he loves Roman history. Then we can get in to some PBEM games.

There is a in-battle save route. Its the bottom icon on the list that appears when you clck on the tools button located on the left lower corner.

As for camera angle its easisest to manipulate it using a mouse with the right button pressed - just takes practice - or if you prefer there are hot key options (press F1 for the list)

[rbodleyscott]

To add a unit under a General's control click on the unit and right click on the Generals unit again but this time choose the square checkerboard symbol to attach the unit to his command.

It should be noted that this is only permitted during the Deployment phase.

4) Is there a way to turn auto save off?

Sadly not

[rbodleyscott]

In the 2nd tutorial the ambient sound includes music. I suggest that a future patch should allow you to turn music off while keeping the other ambient sounds.

The music plays until the end of deployment, and then it switches to ambient sounds.

There are separate sliders for music and sfx in the settings. The ambient sounds use the sfx slider.

[canuckgamer]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. The music continued after deployment in the second tutorial but today when I continued it was no longer playing. What I found out was that the music slider does not appear in the settings accessed when already playing a scenario but is available on one of the first screens before picking a scenario to play.

I did use the save game function by accessing the icon on the bottom left but what I was getting at was that even when you save it, the only way you can end the scenario at that point (Ithink) is to retreat from the map so then it still displays the screens you would see if the scenario had ended in one side attaining victory.

If you look at the screenshots on page 136 and 138 of the manual and especially on page 138 (this flank is doomed) the camera angle is quite a bit lower than what I have been able to get in the game. For a future update I thin a camera angle that is almost at ground level similar to page 138 so you can get the perspective of looking down a long line of units would be cool.

On to the third tutorial!

[Ironclad]

Just launched a Fight Now just to get a quick screenshot. This about the best I can do at that angle with my mouse.

[Patrick Ward]

If you look at the screenshots on page 136 and 138 of the manual and especially on page 138 (this flank is doomed) the camera angle is quite a bit lower than what I have been able to get in the game. For a future update I thin a camera angle that is almost at ground level similar to page 138 so you can get the perspective of looking down a long line of units would be cool.

The view angles won't change for future updates. They've been restricted because they are at the limit that the graphics were designed to work. Any closer and they start to break down. Other peoples opinions differ but we have to decide at what point the game stops looking acceptable and becomes a liability.

But you can edit the zoom and view angles yourself in the mapview file . .

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 9&start=20

But nothing good can ever come of it . .

[w_michael]

But you can edit the zoom and view angles yourself in the mapview file . .

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 9&start=20

But nothing good can ever come of it . .

I remember when I was play testing the original beta, I could zoom in and see the nose hairs on my Ancient British troops. I don't miss that.

[rbodleyscott]

I did use the save game function by accessing the icon on the bottom left but what I was getting at was that even when you save it, the only way you can end the scenario at that point (Ithink) is to retreat from the map so then it still displays the screens you would see if the scenario had ended in one side attaining victory.

To bipass all that, hit the ESC key and then Main Menu

[canuckgamer]

I am not suggesting a higher zoom, only the ability to have a little lower camera angle which would give a more panoramic view of the battlefield. Regardless, a very well designed and thought out game.

[Patrick Ward]

I am not suggesting a higher zoom, only the ability to have a little lower camera angle which would give a more panoramic view of the battlefield. Regardless, a very well designed and thought out game.

They're both classed as camera controls so are both controlled with the same mapview.txt file. I'm sure someone can post their favourite values.

[Lancier]

I just changed pitch to 25 and camera angle is great now, i would suggest that ^^

PITCH 25
PITCHLIMIT 15 // 25
ZOOM 400
ZOOMLIMIT 1200 // 500
ZOOMINLIMIT 200 // 50
ROTATE 30
FOV 30

[canuckgamer]

I changed it to 25, then it asked if I wanted to save changes but when I clicked yes it said permission denied, so how did you do it? Thanks.

[Lancier]

"permission denied"? sorry never heard of it, i simply saved. Maybe Richard and others would know...

[rbodleyscott]

I changed it to 25, then it asked if I wanted to save changes but when I clicked yes it said permission denied, so how did you do it? Thanks.

The file is Read Only. You have to turn that off by right clicking on it, selecting properties and unchecking the Read Only box.
But first make a backup of the original version under a different filename.

However, because the build is in the programs area, and Windows is trying to save you from yourself, you may have to work out how to give yourself permissions to alter files in that directory. Depends on whether you are an administrator for your machine. I don't pretend to fully understand Windows permissions - sometimes it says you need permission and then lets you do it anyway. Bizarre.

[canuckgamer]

As a computer neophyte I would probably do something to screw up Windows so I'll leave it as is and hope that a future update will expand the camera angle. Thanks for the reply.

[BornGinger]

I can use this thread to ask a question too.

On page 72 in the manual it says

A unit that is in the primary ZOC of an enemy unit (marked in red) cannot charge a different enemy unit unless it is also in the primary ZOC of that unit. In the screenshot, the cavalry cannot charge the cohort directly to their front because they are in the primary ZOC of the other cohort.

I'm sure zones of control has to do with balancing the forces in a battle. But I'd like to know what exactly the theory behind the use of zones of control is as the cavalry mentioned above would have been able to charge any enemy unit in a real battle?

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Slitherine and Byzantine Games for the beautiful hardcover manual I received with my physical copy of the game.

[rbodleyscott]

I can use this thread to ask a question too.

On page 72 in the manual it says

A unit that is in the primary ZOC of an enemy unit (marked in red) cannot charge a different enemy unit unless it is also in the primary ZOC of that unit. In the screenshot, the cavalry cannot charge the cohort directly to their front because they are in the primary ZOC of the other cohort.

I'm sure zones of control has to do with balancing the forces in a battle. But I'd like to know what exactly the theory behind the use of zones of control is as the cavalry mentioned above would have been able to charge any enemy unit in a real battle?

Real battles are not IGOUGO, so if you unit did start to charge, the ZOCing unit could countercharge.

ZOCs go some way to countering the gamey side effects of IGOUGO.

[BornGinger]

IGOUGO... IGOIGO.

Thank you for the explanation of the idea behind ZoC. And you also gave me two acronyms I had to find the meaning to.

Another question, now when you're so kind to answer: What is the reason to why skirmishers aren't allowed to shoot on enemies which are engaged in fighting a friendly unit while it's possible to use foot and cavalry to attack them in the rear or flank? Has this rule anything to do with the idea that the skirmishers would be viewed as too strong if they can harm an enemy without them being able to defend themselves against the skirmishers because they are locked in a fight?